1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking tube having a combination lock that may be reset to a new combination.
2. Background Art
Locking tubes are used to protect items or messages. One example of a locking tube is a “cryptex” device that is described in the recently published book THE DAVINCI CODE written by Dan Brown. In THE DAVINCI CODE, the ancient cryptex device contains a secret message that can only be accessed if the tube is properly opened by lining up coding rings on the exterior of the locking tube. Ancient cryptex devices were designed to be opened only by a single dedicated code that could not be changed. The purpose of such devices was to provide a “time capsule” type device that could only be opened by a person having access to the secret code.
Combination locking tubes have been proposed for different uses, such as a puzzle box disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 430,261, as a child-safe pill box in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,347 and as savings banks, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 615,381; 761,251; and 6,109,996. These devices generally do not provide any mechanism for easily changing the secret code. With such devices, once the code is known, there is no challenge for persons knowing the code to reopen the container and the novelty of the device is lost. These types of devices are not useable as a novelty item that could be reused again and again with different codes being required to be determined to obtain access to the contents of the locking tube.
There is a need for a locking tube that may be reused with different combinations being selectable for obtaining access to the contents of the tube. Such a device could be used as part of a board game or as a party game where different teams of players are provided with clues that may assist them in breaking the code. Once the code is broken, there is a need for a way to make the device useful again by quickly resetting the device with a different code.